In many urban settings, parking spaces are not readily available. Drivers spend an excessive amount of time circling around a city block in search of a parking space, particularly if the vehicle being driven seats a relatively large number of passengers, e.g. a van or a sport utility vehicle (SUV), and an available parking spot is smaller than the length of the vehicle.
Although a relatively large sized vehicle is efficient in terms of the number of passengers that can be transported, it presents challenges to traffic and city planners in terms of increased traffic congestion and a lack of suitable parking spaces.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an expandable vehicle which can seat a large number of passengers, yet which can be contracted upon conclusion of a trip so that the reduced size vehicle can be parked at a correspondingly small parking space after the passengers disembark.
JP 5077766 discloses a vehicle that has a contractible body volume. In order to increase or reduce the dimensions of the vehicle, a plurality of protrusions press on the ground by means of a hydraulic jack or an electric motor, causing the wheels to be set off the ground and allowing the dimensions of the vehicle body to be changed. Only one vehicle dimension can be changed at a time. With such an arrangement, an operation for dimensionally adjusting a vehicle is time consuming and complex.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a dimensionally adjustable vehicle, the size of which can be significantly reduced or enlarged upon demand.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a dimensionally adjustable vehicle that can be easily and quickly size adjusted upon demand by the driver.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a dimensionally adjustable vehicle whose length and width can be simultaneously adjustable.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.